Stamford Town Wall

Has been described as a Certain Urban Defence

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains

NameStamford Town Wall
Alternative NamesStanford; Staunford
Historic CountryLincolnshire
Modern AuthorityLincolnshire
1974 AuthorityLincolnshire
Civil ParishStamford

A.D. 922. This year, betwixt gang-days and midsummer, went King Edward with his army to Stamford, and ordered the town to be fortified on the south side of the river. (ASC)

Medieval town wall at Stamford, believed to have been built between 1135 and 1154. The wall may have been damaged in the "sack" of Stamford in 1461 during the Wars of the Roses, though the severity of the damage is open to question. It is clear that it was not wholly destroyed as there is later documentary evidence for residents of the town applying to make private doorways in the walls. The parts that remain show evidence of modern restoration and coping. (PastScape)

Town Wall to North of North Walk House II Town Wall, C1300, raised C1720. Section of town wall, coursed rubble with ashlar dressings. 18 metres of 2 metre high rubble wall with 5 buttresses and 3 gargoyles. The wall was raised in ashlar C1720 with a coped top. To the left 3 metres of further rubble walling with quoins and a gateway with plank door. This section has stone slate coping. The original section to the right has a deep earth bank to the rear, reached up a flight of 15 stone steps with a single square pier with ball finial. (Listed Building Report)

West tower of mediaeval walls, near site of St Peter's Gate. At angle of street. Coursed rubble, 3 stages. One slit opening in top stage. (Listed Building Report)

Gatehouse Comments

One rebuilt round tower and other slight fragmentary remains of Medieval town wall at Stamford, believed to have been built between 1135 and 1154, some of the wall was possibly destroyed in 1461, the parts that remain show evidence of modern restoration and coping. First murage granted 1261, though probably had earth and timber defences from early C10. Murage granted again through first half of C14. Best surviving bastion Grade 1 listed, other surviving bastions and a C14 postern gate Grade 2 listed. C9 Danish earthwork defences do not seem to have survived or to have been reused for medieval wall.

- Philip Davis

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law

This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law

Historic England Scheduled Monument Number
Historic England Listed Building number(s)
Images Of England
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceTF025069
Latitude52.6508102416992
Longitude-0.486129999160767
Eastings502510
Northings306974
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink
Copyright Kim Fyson and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons license.View full Sized Image

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Books

  • Salter, Mike, 2013, Medieval Walled Towns (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 137
  • Osborne, Mike, 2010, Defending Lincolnshire: A Military History from Conquest to Cold War (The History Press) p. 50, 51
  • Purton, P.F., 2010, A History of the Late Medieval Siege: 1200-1500 (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press) p. 299
  • Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p. 24, 45, 60, 68, 88-9, 93, 190, 267
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 63
  • Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 145
  • Bond, C.J., 1987, 'Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Defences' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report 61) p. 92-116 online copy
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 266
  • Mahany, C., Burchard, A. and Simpson, G., 1982, Excavation in Stamford, Lincolnshire 1963-1969 (London: Society for Medieval Archaeology Monograph 9)
  • RCHME, 1977, 'Castle' and 'Town walls' in An Inventory of Historical Monuments: the Town of Stamford (HMSO) p. 3-5 online transcription, ([plan > http://www.british-history.ac.uk/image.aspx?compid=129493&filename=fig20.jpg&pubid=1318]) [plate 57 > http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=129615]
  • Barley, M.W., 1975, 'Town Defences in England and Wales after 1066' in Barley (ed) The plans and topography of medieval towns in England and Wales (CBA Research Report 14) p. 57-71 plan p. 67 download/view online
  • Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p. 122
  • Allen, T., 1934, History of the county of Lincolnshire Vol. 2 p. 319
  • Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p. 216 online copy
  • Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co) p. 231

Antiquarian

  • Camden, Wm, 1607, Britannia hypertext critical edition by Dana F. Sutton (2004)
  • Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England  (Sutton Publishing) p. 300
  • Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1909, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (London: Bell and Sons) Vol. 4 p. 89 online copy; Vol. 5 p. 5 [online copy > http://archive.org/stream/itineraryofjohnl05lelauoft#page/5/mode/1up]

Journals

  • Creighton, Oliver, 2006, ''Castles of Communities': Medieval Town Defences in England; Wales and Gascony' Château Gaillard Vol. 22 p. 75-86
  • Mahany, C. and Roffe, D., 1982, 'Stamford: the Development of an Anglo-Scandinavian Borough' Proceedings of the Battle Conference on Anglo-Norman Studies Vol. 5 p. 197-219 online transcription
  • Mahany, C., 1978, 'Stamford Castle and Town' South Lincolnshire Archaeology Vol. 2 p. 1-32 (whole issue)
  • Phillips, C.W., 1933, The Archaeological Journal Vol. 90 plan opp p. 381 online copy
  • Armitage, E., 1904, 'The Early Norman Castles of England' English Historical Review Vol. 19 p. 209-245, 417-455 esp. 434 online copy

Guide Books

  • Stamford Civic Society, 2006, Outside Saint Peter's Gate (Interpretation board) online copy

Primary Sources

  • Ingram, James, (ed) 1912, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Everyman Press, London) AD922 view online transcription (Ingram's translation and notes date from 1823. More recent translations of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles should be consulted for serious study)
  • Hardy, T.D. (ed), 1833-44, Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum in turri Londinensi (1204-24) (Record Commission) Vol. 1 p. 370b Vol. 2 p. 26 (grants of timber) online copy
  • Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1891-1916, Calendar of Patent Rolls (1258-66) p. 155, 469; (1266-72) p. 121; (1292-1301) p. 512; (1307-13) p. 493; (1327-30) p. 136; (1330-34) p. 523; (1350-54) p. 237 (murage grants)
  • Rotuli Hundredorum_ (Record Commission) Vol. 1 p. 357 (misuse of murage) Translation, by David Roffe, of extract
  • online copies of CPR (A grant of murage in 1251 (CPR (1247-58 p. 103) usually attributed to Stafford may have been Stamford)
  • - < >Also see the Gatehouse murage pages for full details of murage [grants > http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/murage/murindex.html], [petitions > http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/murage/mupindex.html ] and [other such > http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/murage/muaindex.html]. < >